1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor holder, to a holder unit in which a blood sensor is mounted to the sensor holder, and to a blood testing device to which the holder unit is mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional blood testing device (see national publication JP 2001-515377, for example) will now be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional blood testing device 1 comprises a main body 2 having an elliptical cylindrical shape, and a lid 3 that is fitted to the main body 2. The main body 2 comprises a guide 4 that is provided on an end face of the main body 2 and guides the fitting of the lid 3, a connector 5 provided to the guide 4, a blood sensor 6 provided so that it can be inserted into and removed from the connector 5, an electrical circuit (not shown) connected to the connector 5, a display 8 connected to the electrical circuit, a battery (not shown) that supplies power to the circuits of these components, and a needle puncture means 10 provided near the guide 4 and provided in the approximate center of the end face of the main body 2.
The lid 3 comprises a through-hole 11 into which a puncture needle 10a provided to the needle puncture means 10 is inserted, and a finger holding part 12 that surrounds the through-hole 11.
The method for operating the blood testing device 1 constituted in this way will now be described. First, the lid 3 is removed from the main body 2. A new puncture needle 10a and a new blood sensor 6 are then mounted. Once the mounting of the new puncture needle 10a and the new blood sensor 6 is complete, the lid 3 is fitted to the main body 2.
Next, the blood testing device 1 is held in one hand (not shown), and a finger to be punctured (not shown) of the other hand (not shown) is placed against the finger holding part 12. A puncture button (not shown) is then pressed. When the puncture button is pressed, the puncture needle 10a goes through the through-hole 11 and punctures the skin (not shown) of the figure to be punctured. Blood (not shown) oozes out from the skin. This blood is taken into the blood sensor 6, which is set ahead of time near the finger to be punctured. In the blood sensor 6, the blood reacts with a reagent held inside the blood sensor 6. This reaction is electrochemically detected as a current, which is inputted to the electrical circuit, and the blood glucose level or the like is calculated by the electrical circuit. The calculated blood glucose level or the like is displayed on the display 8.
Once the measurement of blood glucose level or the like is thus concluded, the lid 3 is taken off the main body 2 again. The used blood sensor 6 is then removed from the connector 5 and discarded.